Aphasia is a disorder that results from damage to language centers of the brain. For almost all right-handers and for about 1/2 of left-handers, damage to the left side of the brain causes aphasia. As a result, individuals who were previously able to communicate through speaking, listening, reading and writing become more limited in their ability to do so. The most common cause of aphasia is stroke, but gunshot wounds, blows to the head, other traumatic brain injury, brain tumor, and other sources of brain damage can also cause aphasia.
Some people with aphasia have problems primarily with expressive language (what is said) while others have their major problems with receptive language (what is understood). In still other cases, both expressive language and receptive language are obviously impaired. Language is affected not only in its oral form of talking and understanding but also in its written form of reading and writing . Typically, reading and writing are more impaired than oral communication. The nature of the problems varies from person to person depending on many factors but most importantly on the amount and location of the damage to the brain.
Amount and location of the damage, along with other factors, e.g., age, educational level, and health status, also affect the severity of the problems. Persons with severe aphasia may understand almost nothing of what is said to them and say little or nothing. At best, their oral communication may be only approximations of "yes" and "no" and maybe common social phrases like "hi" and "thanks." Persons with mild aphasia may be able to carry on normal conversations in many communication settings. They may have trouble understanding language only when it is long or complex, or they may have some trouble finding the words they need to express an idea or to explain themselves, orally or in written form. Word finding problems ( anomia ) are common in people with aphasia and is like the common experience of having a word "on the tip of our tongues" but not being able to remember it. The person may forget the word comb even though he or she can show you how to use it.
There are also degrees of aphasia between mild and severe . A person may speak only in single words (e.g., names of objects) or in short, fragmented phrases. Smaller words of speech (e.g., the , of , and ), may be omitted, making the message sound like a telegram. Words may be put in the wrong order. Incorrect grammar may be used. Sounds and/or words may be switched. A bed may be called a table or a dishwasher a wish dasher . Or, the person with aphasia may make up a word. In some cases, nonsense (or real) words are strung together quite fluently, but make no sense to the listener.
It usually requires extra effort for the person with aphasia to understand spoken messages, as if he or she is trying to comprehend a foreign language. The person may need extra time to process and understand what is being said. It may be especially hard to follow very fast speech like that heard on radio or television news. He or she may misinterpret subtleties of language, e.g., taking the literal meaning for a figure of speech like He kicked the bucket. Difficulty with one or more of these skills may lead to communication breakdowns and frustrating communication for both the person with aphasia and his or her listeners. *www.asha.org |
